Difficult customers

They are everywhere and nothing we can say sometimes will stop the difficult customer but that isn’t uncommon.   When a customer calls because of something that has happened, you would probably also be mad.   Either way, the probably is that you have to deal with them in one way or another and be able to listen to them and keep them calm.   Even in IT, we deal with difficult customers.   We all know  those customers and  they seem to always call when we least expect it.  I even know that companies are scrambling to find coverage of people to cover the gaping hole for IT support.   I guess this part, I am sure you’ve thought about.   I guess it times to say that I got hired and have been busy with dealing with those really difficult customers who want to get the help they are paying for.

How to deal with them

So you have them on the phone or they are right next to you.  Each technique can be used in any circumstance if you really think about it.   These are just what I’ve noticed and seems to help with me.   I know nothing I do or say sometimes will change how they will react or even deal with me but it does at least make it interesting to say the least.

• Listen to them — This can be so difficult because of the way they customer is reacting to the situation.   If you sit back and listen to what they are saying and make them feel like you are actually listening then it could help alleviate the situation and make the  situation more bearable.
• Tell them what you can do to help them — I’ve talked about this one but I will go back and talk about this.   You tell them what you can do to help them and try to help them resolve their issues will help create a rapport for the customer and the problem.   If you are there to help them they will make an effort to be more helpful to you.
• Be Sincere — This one can seem almost like a given but you’d be surprised how people react to being sincere on the phone that you are trying to help them and be there for them.   Once this one is good they are very likely to listen and stop being so difficult but that one might take some time to learn or know how to be sincere with customers.
• Be ready to Apologize and say sorry —  This is the best technique I could tell people because they really do want the company to apologize when the situation arises that even now.   With having to deal with customers and not having enough staff that can help keep the customer calm or maybe it will calm them down even more because they wanted to hear that from the company.

Understand the situation

Now since we have talked to the customer and tried to actively listen to the customer, we are more likely to want to understand the customer.   Have a script ready to ask the customers who are having a difficult time.   The script is always a good idea.  Here’s a good script that you can adopt:

1. How can I help you?
2. I am sorry for . . . 
3. Let me create a ticket and schedule a time good for you to fix the issue!
4. While I am at it, can we get more information on what you might need and what created the issue?
5. Don’t forget to always thank the customer.  If they feel we value them and listen to them, they will come back even if we have a bad day.

Once you have the script down and know what to go to when there are customers who might be a very difficult person.  This can be a very interesting issue and can draw even more people into the bad day.   Understanding the situation and listening will help you evolve to be a better support specialist.  It just takes some time and know to be able to deal with those difficult customers.

Do you have a way to deal with them?  Why not leave a comment and tell me what you do and how you deal with them?  Is it something you’ve learned over the years or is it something you just learned last week?  Why not comment and tell me about it.